The makings of this spiced cake took root, when this utterly sweet-smelling golden pineapple sitting on our kitchen counter, literally piqued my imagination wild. Whoever has gotten a whiff of a ripe pineapple knows for sure the compelling aroma of the prickly fruit! To be more articulate - the inte

In one of our numerous chat sessions, as my conversation with my Chinese friend/colleague veered towards Sino-Indian relationship, the cultural differences and similarities, we couldn't help but contemplate on the amalgamation of Indian intricacies into Chinese cooking. It veered towards a very interesting conversation about cooking styles, spices used, favorite dishes etc. etc. and she was extremely amused to know that there prevailed a very popular fusion cuisine known as "Indo-Chinese". She had never heard of it (of course..who has unless they are from India?), and seemed intrigued by the names of dishes I was hurling at her. Manchurian, Mixed chowmein...wait what? Manchurian...what's that?
As I pondered on it a bit more, I assumed that although it's never really surprising to find tastes transcending national/international boundaries to give rise to a melange of flavors, the popularity of Indo-Chinese cuisine in India is something you have to see, to believe. This cuisine which sta

There’s never been a cold, rainy day when I haven’t yearned to cuddle up in my cozy comforter gazing out of the window while sipping on a cup of chai generously laced with ginger and munching on crispy home-made pakodas. Although quite a rare occurrence these days, especially with our busy schedules and untimely rain, I considered myself extremely lucky to be home on one such afternoon when it rained generously to my heart’s desire. Just like rain does to every romantic’s heart, it brought out the poetic, creative side of me very willing to experiment. So on that occasional rainy afternoon, in a quest to celebrate the downpour as I raided my refrigerator to cook up something delish, I came across this half-a-piece of beet lingering in the forgotten corner of my fridge drawer. As I stared at it for a brief moment, the only thing that popped up distinctly was the "vegetable chop". While I am at it, I must confess that I have always had a love-hate relationship with beet.The very few time

Driven by intense conversations regarding “Barfi” (the Ranbir Kapoor one people!), I couldn’t help but think about the real and the first connotation the word “barfi” has had for me since childhood. In fact, it has also been the only thing I have been thinking for quite a while. Sounds strange??..well might be..but I just couldn’t help but think about the real barfi when that’s the word all over and I am very sure most of you must have lingered on the same too 😉
So with my injury healing quite fairly and with the upcoming Ganesh Utsav, I had been burning to make something new and exciting. It had been a while since I had done something rousing in the kitchen and should I say, I was dying to do so. But to be very frank, I had never thought of making Barfi EVER until last weekend and this was the first time I had even dared to look up recipes to help me make it. No matter how rich and delicious it might taste, this humble sweet had an awful impression of being cumbersome to make. Now si

Summer and mangoes have been synonymous ever since I could think of. The sweltering heat of the summer months seems much more bearable when relished with some juicy, sweet, luscious mangoes. Come summer and we would have cartons of mangoes smelling absolutely divine in our store room. The luxury of waking up to the smell of mangoes for breakfast was something we didn’t quite have to look forward to too much. It happened ever so often. The taste and aroma of Indian “Baigana Palei” mangoes is unbeatable but I don’t really mind much. Mangoes in any form, size and shape are welcome anytime. I remember eating them as desserts, snacks and of course sometimes as the main course. I am sure most of you would remember devouring raw mangoes with salt, rock salt and chilli powder. Aah! The simple delights of childhood abandon..which I try to emulate ever so often. I am sure that by now you can really tell that mangoes are my most favorite of all fruits. I have always been partial with it and I gue